de bange



.2 sheets-sheet 1.

ed Deo. 1, 1885.

(No Modl.)

C. T. M. V. DE BANGE.

GUN CARRIAGE.

Pat .a.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

C. 'Ilv M. V. DE BANGE.

GUN CARRIAGE.

Patetd Dec. 1, 1885. @s

`der the chassis. vthe chassiswhich support it efficiently on a CHARLESTIMOTHE MAXIMILIEN VALRAND DE RANGE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

GUN-CARRIAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,618, dated December1, 1885. Application led December 4, 1884. `Serial No. 149,460. (Nomodel.) Patented in France May 27, 1884,No.162,396.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T, M. V. DE RANGE, a citizen of the Republicof France, residing in Paris, France, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Gun- Carriages, of which the following is aspecication.

I will describe the invention as applied to an ordinary chassis; but itmay be applied in part to guns mounted in barbette and in any desiredsituation.

Great improvements have been made inV artillery, permitting, among otheradvantages, the discharge of heavy'projectiles from light guns; but ithas heretofore been difficult to apply such improvements to guns oflarge caliber. Even by the employment of the revolving tracks knownaschassis77 the firing is limited to smallvertical angles. I have deviseda new construction of the carriage (Zaft) which supports the gun uponthe chassis. The inclined rear portion is curved, allowing a greaterdepression of the breech of 'the' gun than would be otherwisepracticable. "Ihls part is largely composed of curved plates,

which yield by increasing their curvature under the strong force ofrecoil when the gun is fired. I support the front of the carriage onrollers and connecting yokes arranged to accommodate the elasticyielding of the carriage when the gun is fired. I use rollers mountedeccentrically at the rear and subject to the force of springs peculiarlyarranged. An inclined link attaches the front of the carriage to anefficient brake. I employ a chain connecting the rear of the carriagewith the chassis,.and arranged to serve the double purpose ofrestraining the motion of the recoil in case the other provisions fail,and of restraining its forward motion at the right point. The parts areso arranged that the pivot of the chassis comes under the center ofgravity of .the parts when the gun is in battery. Ihis reduces thenecessity for rollers or wheels un- Shoes are employed under suitablecircular way. I make use of a pecu- Early-efficient packing inconnection with the cylinders of the hydraulic brake. I provide a leverto elevate the projectile to the breech of the gun. An opposite arm ofthe lever has a cross-bar adapted to be operated bythe weight of theattendants, which they throw thereon at the proper time.

The following is a description of what I consider the best means ofcarrying out the invention.

The drawings represent the novel parts, with so much of the ordinaryparts as is necessary to show their relation thereto.

It will be understood that the portions not represented may be of anyordinary or suitable construction.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a duplex figure.On the right is a transverse section on the line x a: inV Fig. 1, and onthe left is a longitudinal section showing more particularly theeccentric bearings of the rollers. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section,partly in front elevation. The left side is a cross-section on the liney y in Fig. 1. The right side is sectioned a little farther rearward, sothat the plane of action at one point passes through the centers of onepair of wheels. Fig. 4 is on a larger scale. It is a longitudinalsection through one end of the hydraulicbrake cylinder.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theiigures where they occur.

Contrary to the construction heretofore geuerally adopted for carriagesor chasses, my carriage presents a form strongly curved. It is composedof two parallel sides or parts formed each with two upright plates, A A,and curved plates B C D, strongly united by angle-irons. The front ofthe carriage is mounted on two trucks having. each four wheels, J. Theconnecting-yokes H carry upright-s E, which support the trunnions of thecannon. The parts E are each formed with curved grooves, which receivecorresponding side pieces bolted on the parts H and form a flexibleconnection.

F is a plate, which re-enforces the junction of the uprights E with thecurved and elastic portion of the carriage.

N is a grooved rail, whichguides the wheels J in traversing backward andforward on the chassis. Liberty is allowed for a slight transverseyielding movement of the parts when necessary. The two yokes H on eachside are united by a shaft, G. Ihis shaft is tied stronglyl and stifflyto the rear extremity of the carriage by a plate, K. The rear extrem-IOO ity of the carriage is furnished with two wheels, P, turning looselyon eccentric bearings on a shaft, L. This shaft is mounted loosely inthe plates A, so that it is capable of a partial revolution, and carriesa iinger,M,which in turningin one direction acts against the center of aplate, O, which presses against three springs,-

raising the eccentric bearings of the wheel, f

lets the carriage down, so as to make a strong friction on the chassis.the recoil movement the springs O' operate the finger M and compel theshaft L to partially turn in its bearings, so as to depress the centerof the wheels P and induce an elevation of the rear of the carriage, sothat it shall not rest on the chassis except through the intervention ofthe wheels. At the moment of firing the force of the recoil acts on thecarriage, and through it on the wheels P, giving a partial rotation totheshaft L, against the force of the springs O, sufficient to raise thewheels and allow the rear of the carriage to press directly on thechassis. This is the condition which obtains during the recoil. 1 Afterthe recoil the elastic force ofthe springs O gives a partial revolutionto the shaft L in the reverse direction and again depresses the wheelsP, so that they relieve the carriage from friction, and make it easy toagainmove the gun into battery. This movement may be rendered automaticby clination to the chassis. I esteem this animportant advantage of myinvention.

The chassis is composed of two side frames formed each of two uprightplates, Q, joined by two horizontal plates, R, vstrongly united` byangle-irons. The side frames `are united at their extremities by strongcross-pieces S, and in the intervals by two cross-pieces, T. The chassiscarries at its front end a hydraulic brake, to which the pistons arefixed by means of rods U, secured to the two cross-pieces S, and the twomovable cylinders V, lying side by side near the center line, are joinedtogether at the front and rearandallowed a longitudinal movement guidedat the rear by slides X, fixed to the cross-pieces T, and at the frontby slides Y on the inner faces of the chassis. The stout cross-piece Z,which joins the front end of the cylinders V of the brake, carries thefront end of the stronglink W, extending rearward and upward, andtaking` hold of vthe stout cross-shaft Gr, which connects the yolres H,before described. connection of the carriage with the chassis throughinclined links and the hydraulic brake opposes` the lifting of the frontof the carriage at the moment of the firing. When the gun is moved againinto battery, it is ar- At the termination of giving a sufficient inn Itwill be seen that this 7o subject to the action of springs b. Theseparts are so proportioned that in moving the gun forward into battery itis brought to rest in the exact position desired. The inclined positionof the chains at that moment aids to prevent the lifting of the rear ofthe carriage, when, as is sometimes the case, the gun moves forwardrapidly and strikes strongly against the ordinary buffers (not shown) toeffect the sudden stoppage. The arrangement is also such that the chainsarrest the movement of the carriage rearward during the recoil in casethe brake is not sufficiently effective. The buffers c, mounted on therear o f the chassis, also contribute to this end. In my system the 8 5pivot d of the chassis is placed under the center of gravity of theentire mass when the gun is in battery. Under these conditions thesnpporting-wheels, ordinarily mounted beneath, to support the rear endof the chassis, may be omitted, and the entire weight may be supportedon the pivot d and on the shoes f, which rest on a circular way, e. Thefriction is easy to overcome by reason of the smal-l diameter of thiscircular way.

I provide means (notshown) for supporting the rear end `of the chassisafter it has been turned in the required direction, so that .it shallreliably support the carriage and the cannon during the recoil.

I provide very efficiently for the tightness of the packing of thehydraulic brake at the point f where the rod U of the piston (not shown)extends through the ends of the cylinder V. I use a plastic packing.`(Represented detached in Fig. 4.) In order to give it the necessarytightness, I compress'it by a screw, j, having a packing at its frontand inserted in a screwthreaded aperture, v3. By means of this screw Iforce additional plastic matter into the packing, as required, and thusreplace any packing which may be lost.

I facilitate the charging of the gun by employing a bent lever, k,turning on a xed center, l. At one of the extremities of this lever issuspended a frame, m, to receive a projectile and cartridge. At theother end is fixed a transverse bar, n, which is conveniently placed tobe pressed down by the attendants, and thus rapidly raise the charge tothe breech of the gun. A catch, Q, provided with a counter-weight, p,engages in notches in a segment attached so as to hold the lever k inany position desired while the charge is thrust forward into the gun bythe same or other attendants.

The form and construction of the curved elastic portion of the carriagehas the effect to l greatly relieve the carriage and its connectionsfrom shockat the moment of ring. It also allows the gun to be operatedat much greater inclinations than usual.

Modifications may be made in the forms and proportions of the details.

The charging-lever k may be mounted on a fulcrum independent ofthe'carriage, if preferred. In either condition it serves to raise thecharge rapidly by the weight of the attendants applied on thecross-piece n.

The side plates, A A, of the carriage may be made in many pieces, or maybe omitted at certain points to increase the capacity of the carriage toyield elastically by removing the stiffness due to the upright plates EE at the sides.

There may be other forms of flexible connection of the yokes II to theuprights E. It is essential that the connection be strong, to supportthe weight and the concussions to which it is subjected, and be capableof yielding to allow theupper ends of the uprights E to be deflectedrearward at the moment of the recoil, and still allow the wheels J toremain firmly bearing on the chassis.

Parts of the invention may be used successfully without the whole.

I claim as my inventionl. In a gun carriage, substantially as described,the trail formed of curved spring. metal plates B C D, arranged oneabove another, and secured together and to the carriage, and extendingfirst downward and then rearward, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a gun carriage, substantially as described, the trail formed ofcurved metal plates B (l D, arranged one above another and secured toside plates, A, by angle-irons, riding- Wheels, as P, journaled in saidside plates and arranged upon eccentric bearings at the rear of thetrail, an arm rigid with the shaft of said wheels, and a spring arrangedto be compressed by said arm, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The trail formed of the curved metal plates B C D and side plates, A,the trucks J I, supporting the body of the carriage and carrying theuprights E, and connecting-yokes H, flexibly connected with each other,in combination with the plate F, arranged to re-enforce the flexiblejoint, the wheels P upon the rear of the trail, and the tie-plate K,connecting the truck-shaft G to the rear of the trail, as set forth.

4. In a gun carriage, substantially as described, the combination, withthe curved trail and its carried wheels P, having eccentric bearings,and with the shaft L, having finger M, of springs O', arranged in thepath of said finger, and means, as O2, for adjusting the force of thespring, as set forth.

5. In a gun carriage, as described, two trucks or sets of wheels, J,arranged under the trnnnions of the gun and supporting the same by yokesH and uprights E, as described, in

, combination with each other and with a springcurved trail, and a tie,K, connecting such trail with the shaft of the trucks, as and for thepurposes set forth.

6. The charging-lever k, projectile-support m, transverse bar n, andfulcrum-pivot Z, in combination with each other and with a guncarriageand gun, and with the click g and CHARLES 'HMoTHEE MIXIMILIEN VALERANDDE RANGE.

Witnesses:

EUG. DUBoIs, CRMERs.

